The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) on Thursday evening inaugurated the newly constructed Ihovbor/Benin and Ihovbor/Ajaokuta 330kV Turn-In-Turn-Out transmission lines in Edo State, in a move to improve electricity supply.
Speaking during the inauguration at the Ihovbor Transmission Substation in Benin, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of TCN, Alhaji Sule Abdulaziz, said the project would enable the evacuation of additional 600 megawatts of power into the national grid.
Alhaji Abdulaziz described the project as a major milestone in strengthening Nigeria’s transmission infrastructure and improving grid reliability nationwide.
The TCN boss noted that the project strategically linked the existing Benin/Ajaokuta 330kV transmission line to the Ihovbor Transmission Substation through two new transmission routes spanning about 14 kilometres.
According to him, the project would significantly enhance TCN’s capacity to evacuate electricity generated by the Azura Power plant and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company facility.
“This project has increased the operational flexibility of the transmission network and strengthened the resilience of power delivery within the Benin corridor.
“The importance of this project cannot be overstated. It grants TCN the ability to more efficiently evacuate power generated by the Azura Power Plant and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company plant.
“This has equally helped in alleviating transmission bottlenecks, enhanced system reliability, while allowing distribution companies access to more bulk electricity for customers nationwide,” he said.
The TCN boss assured Nigerians that the project would translate to improved power supply across the country, noting that the transmission infrastructure had already been energised before the official commissioning.
“We are going to evacuate more power, meaning that Nigerians will get more light.
“It’s already commissioned. They have started to experience it because this circuit is already in service. Around April 23 was when we completed the project,” Abdulaziz said.
The managing director explained that with the national grid system, electricity generated from the Benin axis could now be wheeled more efficiently to different parts of the country.
Responding to concerns over whether distribution companies would purchase and distribute the additional power, Alhaji Abdulaziz said the responsibility of TCN was to transmit electricity from generating companies to load centres.
“Our own job is to transmit the power from the generators to the load units. It is the responsibility of distribution companies now to distribute to customers. More industries will get light and also residential people,” he said.
Earlier, the contractor for the project and Managing Director of Energo Nigeria, Mr Predrag Mihel, said the project involved the construction of approximately 14 kilometres of 330kV double-circuit transmission line comprising 30 towers and foundations.
Mr Mihel noted that the double-circuit line carrying twin Bison conductors would support the evacuation of about 1.5 gigawatts of electricity from the NIPP and Azura power plants into the national grid.
“This project is not only a technical achievement, but also a result of trust, teamwork, professionalism, and strong cooperation between TCN and ENERGO.
“We are proud to have successfully completed this important infrastructure project in line with the expectations and standards of TCN,” he said.
Also speaking, General Manager, Benin Region of TCN, Mr Charles Iwuamadi, said the project represented a major expansion of transmission capacity in the region.
“We are talking about over 600 megawatts added as a wheeling capacity in this environment,” Mr Iwuamadi said.
Representing the Enogie of Ihovbor/Evbueka, Chief Fortune Igbinakenzua, Mr Elliot Imafido appealed to TCN to prioritise employment opportunities for indigenes and improve electricity supply to the host community.
“We have the generation company here, we have the transmission line here, yet Ihovbor cannot boast of light. What we have is very erratic and it’s not encouraging.
“We want TCN to ensure that Ihovbor has light,” he said.
By: Fortune Oyem, Benin.
